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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDowntown Business Improvement District (BID) 2011 Report and 2012 Work Plan and Budget.pdfThe Downtown Business Improve- ment District (BID) was established in 2000 and renewed in 2010 to un- dertake a variety of “clean and safe” programs on behalf of the property owners in the downtown district. The BID is an organization of downtown property owners that pay a voluntary assessment to fund comprehensive main- tenance and beautification programs. The BID employs a director and staff who perform a variety of tasks associated with the following BID programs: Maintenance; Graffiti Removal; Flower Baskets; Holiday Decorations. The BID is a member of the Downtown Partnership along with the Downtown Bozeman Association and the Tax Incre- ment Finance District. As a key player in the Downtown Partnership, the BID has been instrumental in assisting with the vision and implementation of the 2001 Streetscape Project, the 2007 Main Street Overlay Project, and most recently the development of the 2009 Downtown Improvement Plan: a framework for economic vitality. This annual report highlights the BID programs that keep downtown looking vibrant. These BID programs in turn result in a pleasing experience for shoppers, diners and visitors thus at- tracting more customers. Ultimately, the efforts of the BID increase property values by keeping the downtown district well maintained and visually aesthetic. A History of the BID: A Decade of Service Downtown The BID Misson: Keeping Downtown Beautiful and Vibrant The downtown Bozeman Business Improvement District (BID) is an organization of down- town property owners who through thoughtful, pro-active collaboration and partnership with local government, business owners, residents and citizens strive to create a shared vision and voice for the community of downtown Bozeman. The BID will commit resources, identify, plan and act on short-term and long-term initiatives otherwise unavailable to individual own- ers. The BID has a goal of ensuring the long-term preservation and vitality of the city’s un- derlying economic, cultural, social and environmental assets and the BID will work together to keep our downtown a safe, beautiful and vibrant place. FY2011 BID ANNUAL REPORT Downtown Business Improvement District Eric Bowman-Chair Owenhouse Ace Hardware Mike Basile Prudential Real Estate Mike Grant Russell Grant Inc. Dan Himsworth Insty-Prints Ileana Indreland Delaney & Company Steve Stinson Wells Fargo Bank Buck Taylor Gallatin Community Clinic CONTENTS Maintenance Program 2 Graffiti Removal Program 2 Flower Basket Program 3 Holiday Decorations Program 3 The Next Ten Years 4 Inside Story 4 BID Board 43 Over the years the BID maintenance program has grown to include one full-time employee and one part-time employee. The maintenance staff work seven days a week doing a variety of projects to keep downtown clean, appealing and inviting. The summer months are by far the busiest for the maintenance team. Seven days a week, the staff begin watering the flower baskets at sunrise. The remainder of the day is spent emptying garbage, removing graffiti, maintaining Soroptomist Park. Staff also water the younger street trees throughout the district during the hot months. Once a year the staff re- treat the pedestrian benches to keep them looking good. The BID maintenance program shifts gears when the snow begins to fly. The staff remove snow and ice from the pedestrian ramps at the Main Street intersections. They also keep the storm drains clear to allow melting snow to drain. In addition, the staff continue to empty the trash receptacles and remove graffiti. Year round the BID maintenance staff maintains the light pole banners, assists with DBA special events, installs holiday decorations and removes hundreds of posters and stickers . The BID maintenance team utilizes the ever-present Mule ATV and pick-up truck to perform many of their day-to-day tasks. The goal of the BID maintenance team is not only to keep downtown in top shape, but also to serve as ambassadors. Staff often can be seen advising visitors where to grab a bite to eat or how to find the library. BID Maintenance Program: Keeping the Downtown Attractive BID Graffiti Removal Program: Winning the Battle Against Vandalism The rising level of graffiti vandalism in our downtown is an eyesore that threatens the well-being of downtown and is an affront to our entire community. Graffiti contributes to lost revenue associated with reduced retail sales and declines in property value. In addition, graffiti generates the perception of blight and a sense that a place is in a state of decline and may even be unsafe. A survey conducted in 2008 documented over 300 separate tags in the downtown district. That same year, the BID Board committed funds to launch the Graffiti Removal Program to tackle this growing problem. Case studies have repeatedly proven that the number one deterrent to graffiti is prompt removal of new tags. Therefore, the BID maintenance program strives to remove all new tags within 48 hours. In FY2011, BID maintenance staff removed 125 graffiti tags bring the total number removed over the life of the program to 1153. Below is a series of “before-during-and-after” photos showing the BID Graffiti Removal Program in action. Page 2 FY2011 BID ANNUAL REPORT Maintenance Staff Keep Downtown Looking Good • Empty the trash receptacles • Pick up garbage from store- fronts, doorways and sidewalks • Water the flower baskets • Clean up Soroptomist Park • Remove stickers and posters • Remove graffiti tags • Snow removal from crosswalks 44 Perhaps the most beloved BID initiative is the Flower Basket Program that adorns the street lamps downtown with over 200 baskets of color every sum- mer. Not only does the BID purchase the planted baskets of Super Petunias, but the maintenance staff waters them seven days a week for over 130 con- secutive days to ensure they remain vibrant throughout the summer. To make this program a reality, the BID orders the baskets to be planted in Feb- ruary. The flowers are cultivated until early June when they can be hung down- town after the last hard frost. Then the work begins for the staff to water them each and every day. The BID utilizes a pick-up truck complete with a 500 gal- lon water tank, pump and hose. The BID flower baskets are invalu- able to making downtown beautiful and unique during the summer. BID Flower Basket Program: A Downtown Summer Tradition BID Holiday Decoration Program: Celebrating the Winter Season As soon as the flower baskets come down in the fall, the BID begins planning to install the holiday decorations that make downtown festive from Thanksgiving through New Years. Year after year, the BID relies the commitment of the many community partners that make “lighting up the town” possi- ble. Most noticeable are the large intersection decorations affec- tionately known as the “Christmas Spiders.” These famous decorations have been installed downtown for over 20 years. In recent years, the BID has invested in rebuilding each Spi- der to insure their safety and continued service. The BID relies on the following groups to make all the holiday decora- tion an annual tradition: Bozeman Fire Department, City of Bozeman Forestry Division, Streets Department, and Sign Department, Bozeman Arborcare, Montana Crane Service. The other holiday decorations that adorn downtown include 80 lit strands of garland that the BID maintenance staff wrap around each historic street lamp up and down Main Street. A total of 16 large wreaths and bows are hung from the traf- fic light standards at the downtown intersections on either end of Main Street’s historic core. The BID also lights the large trees in Soroptomist Park. Page 3 45 Downtown Bozeman Partnership 222 East Main Street Suite 302 Bozeman MT 59715 Phone: 406-586-4008 www.downtownbozeman.org chris@downtownbozeman.org Business Improvement Districts have a statutory life of ten years. The original Downtown BID expired in May of 2010. Considering the value of the BID programs to downtown and the entire community, the BID Board requested the property owners renew the district for another ten year term. The Downtown BID was renewed in August of 2010 by 65% of the property owners within the district who signed petitions agreeing to do so. Only 2 of the 145 owners submitted a formal protest to renewing the BID district. In an effort to bring predictability to the annual assessment, the BID Board stipulated the fol- lowing assessment revenue schedule: 2011-2013 $114,000; 2014-2017 $120,000; and 2018- 2020 $126,000. The Maintenance, Graffiti Removal, Flower Basket, and Holiday Decoration Programs will continue to keep downtown clean, safe, beautiful and vibrant thus benefiting the business owners, property owners, visitors and the entire Bozeman community for another decade. The Next Decade: Continuing to Improve Downtown 2009 BID ANNUAL REPORT 823 Number of hours worked by BID maintenance staff 2643 Number of trash receptacles emptied 125 Number of graffiti tags removed 202 Number of flower baskets purchased and installed 135 Number of consecutive days flowers watered 27270 Number of individual flower baskets watered 100 Number of holiday decorations installed 395 Number of street lamp banners installed Below are some interesting “statistics” demonstrating the quantity of work accomplished by the BID in FY2011. Page 4 Downtown Business Im- provement District FY2011 Annual Report was prepared by: Chris Naumann Executive Director of the Downtown BID and Downtown Bozeman Partnership BID by the Numbers: They All Add Up to Success 46 Downtown Business Improvement District FY2012 BID Work Plan and Budget BID Mission Statement The BID is an organization of downtown property owners who through thoughtful, pro-active collaboration and partnership with local government, business owners, residents and citizens strive to create a shared vision and voice for the community of downtown Bozeman. The BID will commit resources, identify, plan and act on short-term and long-term initiatives otherwise unavailable to individual owners. The BID has a goal of ensuring the long-term preservation and vitality of the city’s underlying economic, cultural, social and environmental assets and the BID will work together to keep our downtown a safe, beautiful and vibrant place. BID Assessment Programs The following programs are funded by the special assessments collected from property owners within the Business Improvement District. The BID assessment for FY2012 will be $114,000.00 for the fourth consecutive year. The BID also received approximately $6000 in additional revenue from sponsorships and interest earnings. Downtown Bozeman Partnership ($65,000) The BID is a member of the Downtown Bozeman Partnership. The BID contributes to the administration of the Downtown Partnership office located at 222 East Main Street. In turn, the Partnership manages all the payroll expenses associated with the BID Director. Summer Flowers ($19,999) The BID purchases, installs and maintains (which includes watering 7 days a week) 200 hanging baskets of Super-Petunias. These flower baskets are hung throughout downtown from June through September on the historic lamp posts. This program grows each year as additional historic street lamps are installed downtown. Holiday Lighting ($3,000) The BID installs the following holiday lighting downtown: 1) lighted garland on each historic lamp post along Main Street; 2) lights on the large conifer trees in Soroptimist Park; 3) garland wreaths at the Rouse, Church, Wallace, and Grand intersections; and 4) the infamous holiday “spider” decoration above the downtown intersections. 47 Maintenance Program ($24,550) The BID hires a full-time maintenance employee in addition to a part-time maintenance employee for the summer months. Primary tasks performed by the BID maintenance staff includes garbage collection, flower watering, tree watering, Soroptomist Park upkeep, installation of the light pole banners, maintenance of pedestrian benches, graffiti removal, and limited snow removal. The BID maintenance staff removed 2643 bags of garbage in 2011. Graffiti Removal Program ($1000) The BID comprehensive graffiti removal program is in its third year of operation. To date, this program has removed 1153 graffiti tags. The BID maintenance staff removes tags from public property and works with property owners to clean private buildings of graffiti. The BID will continue to actively remove new tags as quickly as possible considering immediate removal has proven to be the most effective deterrent. Downtown Banners ($3,000) The BID purchases, installs and maintains the downtown light pole banners. Seasonally the BID installs banners for MSU, Bogert Farmers Market, Bridger Bowl, Moonlight Basin, Big Sky Resort, Sweet Pea and Hatch. --Please refer to the included 2010 BID Annual Report for more details— 48 49